An examination of elementary teachers' knowledge of geography and geographic education.

摘要

This exploratory study examined elementary teachers' knowledge of geography and geographic education, the teaching of geographic concepts in elementary classrooms, and the implications these findings have for preservice and inservice education programs. Fifty elementary teachers responded to two questionnaires and seven teachers and three geographers were interviewed.;Research in the 1980's and 1990's indicates that students perform poorly on assessments of geographic knowledge and that many Americans are geographically illiterate. In an attempt to improve students' geographic knowledge and provide useful guidelines for classroom teachers, the geography community published four major documents. In addition, the National Geographic Society established the Geography Education Program in 1985 to improve the quality of geographic education.;Teachers in this study were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and a concept questionnaire. The demographic questionnaire asked teachers to define geography and geographic literacy and provide data about their educational preparation and teaching experience. The concept questionnaire listed learning activities that teach geographic concepts taken from K-6 Geography: Themes, Key Ideas, and Learning Opportunities (1987). Teachers indicated the learning activities they used in their classrooms. Follow-up interviews with classroom teachers and interviews with geographers and members of the Pennsylvania Geographic Alliance confirm patterns in the data collected from the questionnaires.;Teachers' understanding of geography and geographic education was limited to place names and location, rather than geographic interrelationships. While these teachers reported presenting geographic concepts in their classrooms, the emphasis was on place names, location, and mapskills. The teaching activities they used were dictated by the textbook and seldom moved students beyond the traditional paper and pencil format to physically explore the world outside the classroom. Findings of this study suggest that preservice and inservice teacher education programs need to broaden teachers' understanding of geography and how students can be taught. The state and regional geographic alliance network is a resource that can provide preservice and inservice teachers with background knowledge about geography and appropriate classroom activities to enhance student learning. Teacher education programs and district inservice programs may serve as the links between geographers and practitioners.